Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 232,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 23,942 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of CF Industries worth $20,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth $129,574,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $96,560,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 926.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,118,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,455 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 72.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,728,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,061,000 after purchasing an additional 724,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $63,104,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CF shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on CF Industries from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on CF Industries from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.14.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $92.86 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.70. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $104.45.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.10%.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.